Image credit: https://www.apple.com/
Apple Pay, the Cupertino-based company’s first foray into mobile payments, has been a big success since its debut last year. The tech giant plans to expand the service into new markets this year, with the UK planned this summer. Is Apple Pay simply a new payment option for consumers though, or does it mean more than that for businesses?
Recent Announcements
With the changes made to iOS, the operating system of Apple’s popular smartphone, the iPhone, announced at the company’s recent Worldwide Developers Conference, tech blog 9to5Mac found that Apple will allow marketers to send content offers to users through iAd, the company’s own advertisement service. These offers will be delivered through the recently revamped Passbook application, which is being renamed to Wallet and now holds user’s loyalty cards as well as their credit and debit cards.
While offers were initially described as “triggered with updates specific to a store location via iBeacon,” advertisers can also target users by age, gender, geography, or their own custom demographics using their own data. While Google’s Android ecosystem has overtaken iOS as the market leader, the iPhone is still the most popular handset in many markets which makes it a fantastic opportunity to reach a wide-ranging audience with your content. Studies have shown that Apple users spend, on average, four times more on mobile applications than Google’s users, making them an increasingly valuable demographic.
How Does It Work?
Apple Pay uses a technology called near field communications (NFC). Each NFC-compatible device includes a chip that operates as one part of a wireless link. When this comes into contact with another chip, either by touching the devices or from close proximity, typically between 10cm or less, a connection made up of radio frequencies is established. This technology is being implemented in many modern smartphones, including Android handsets, as well as a burgeoning new mobile devices called smartwatches.
If you want your business to be able to offer customers the option of paying with their smart devices, you’ll need to invest in new NFC-compatible payment terminals. The Clover Station, available from specialised payment providers such as Card-Cutters, will accept both Apple Pay and contactless card payments and comes pre-installed with your product lists right out of the box. This means you’ll be able to easily set your new payment management system in time for the nationwide roll-out of Apple Pay this summer.
Being able to reach the widest possible audience is a key component in expanding your customer-base. With iPhone sales at an all-time-high, there’s sure to be high demand when Apple Pay finally makes its way to the UK. Now that the service offers more than just an added convenience for the consumers, there’s no better time to invest in the latest payment technologies either.
If you would like our help planning and implementing content suitable for iAd give us a call on
+44 (0) 845 2264 247 or email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com. Marketing Fundamentals Ltd are a leading B2B Content Marketing Agency in London. We create Content and use Social Media to build relationships with your prospective and existing customers or supporters.
Thanks for reading!
Best regards,
Marketing Fundamentals Team
This is blog post no. 280.
Follow us on Social Media
